Aluminum has been long known to be neurotoxic, with mounting evidence that chronic exposure is a factor in many neurological diseases, including dementia, autism, and Parkinson’s disease.

A new case study from Keele University in the UK unequivocally shows high levels of aluminum in the brain of an individual exposed to aluminum at work, who later died from Alzheimer’s disease.

The aluminum-Alzheimer’s link

The 66 year-old man developed an aggressive form of early onset Alzheimer’s disease after eight years of occupational exposure to aluminum dust.

In 2004 as well, high aluminum levels were found in the tissues of a British woman who died of early-onset Alzheimer’s. This was 16 years after an industrial accident dumped 20 metric tons of aluminum sulphate into her local drinking water.

Exposure to aluminum is unfortunately an occupational hazard for those who work in industries like mining, factory work, welding, and agriculture. Not to mention that you ingest aluminum vapors every time your nose catches cigarette smoke wafting by.

Inhaling aluminum dust or vapors sends aluminum particles directly into your lungs in a highly absorbable form, where they pass into your bloodstream and are distributed throughout your body, including your bones and brain. Aluminum powder has been known to cause pulmonary fibrosis, and aluminum factory workers are prone to asthma.

The ‘dark side’ of aluminum exposed

The documentary, The Age of Aluminum, reveals the “dark side” of this toxic metal, exploring the scientific links between aluminum and diseases such as breast cancer and neurological disorders. Also exposed is how aluminum mining and manufacturing have created acute ecological problems across the globe, leading to environmental disasters in Hungary, South Africa, and the UK.

Aluminum is everywhere

Aluminum occurs naturally in soil, water, and air. It can’t be destroyed in the environment—it only changes its form by attaching or separating from other particles.

Rain washes aluminum particles out of the air and into our water supply, where they tend to accumulate rather than degrade. If you live in an industrial area, your exposure is undoubtedly higher than average.

The average adult in the US consumes about 7 to 9 mg of aluminum per day in food, and a lesser amount from air and water. Only about 1% of the aluminum you ingest orally gets absorbed into your body—the rest is moved out by your digestive tract, provided it’s functioning well.

Aluminum is found in a shocking number of foods and consumer products, including:

• foods such as baking powder, self rising flour, salt, baby formula, coffee creamers, baked goods and processed foods, coloring and caking agents;
• drugs, such as antacids, analgesics, anti-diarrheals, and others; additives such as magnesium stearate;
• vaccines—Hepatitis A and B, Hib, DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis), pneumococcal vaccine, Gardasil (HPV), and others;
• cosmetics and personal care products such as antiperspirants, deodorants (including salt crystals made of alum), lotions, sunscreens, and shampoos;
• aluminum products, including foil, cans, juice pouches, tins, and water bottles.

Does your frozen dinner come with a side of aluminum?

In a study published in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe, researchers analyzed 1,431 non-animal foods and beverages for aluminum content:

• 77.8 percent had an aluminum concentration of up to 10 mg/kg,
• 17.5 percent had aluminum concentrations between 10 and 100 mgkg,
• 4.6 percent of the samples had aluminum concentrations in excess of 100 mg/kg.

Additional contamination occurs when food comes into contact with aluminum equipment and other items because aluminum is unstable in the presence of acids and bases. Aluminum equipment has a protective oxide film, but this can be damaged as fine fissures develop from normal wear and tear.

If you cook your food in aluminum foil, that increases aluminum levels as follows:

• red meats cooked in aluminum foil showed an increase in aluminum by 89 - 378%
• poultry increased by 76 - 214%
• aluminum levels increased with higher cooking temperatures and longer cooking times

Brain inflammation in both children and adults

Aluminum is the most commonly used vaccine adjuvant and is considered “safe” even though research shows it may induce serious immunological disorders and neurological complications in humans.

Aluminum in vaccines may be even more dangerous than mercury. The number of aluminum-containing vaccines children receive today has quadrupled over the past 30 years. And as children’s aluminum burden has increased, so has the prevalence of childhood neurological disorders.

If you go by the aluminum content on vaccine labels, the amount kids are getting is excessive, but if you add in the aluminum NOT listed on the labels—”accidental exposure” due to contamination—it can be five to six times bigger than what is listed on the label.

Vaccine adjuvants can cause serious chronic brain inflammation. Aluminum targets your cerebellum and autonomic nervous system—the part responsible for biological processes over which you have no conscious control (breathing, blood pressure, balance, coordination, etc.).

How to detoxify aluminum

Avoid products such as:

• toothpaste containing aluminium oxyhydroxide
• antiperspirants containing aluminum chloride, aluminum chlorohydrate, or aluminum-zirconium compounds
• aluminum laminated pouch drinks
• aluminum cookware
• aluminum espresso makers

The best way to protect yourself is to be careful about your choices in food and personal products, and minimize your use of vaccines and other drugs that are often contaminated with aluminum.

Optimizing your dietary sulfur is also essential, as your body needs sulfur to manufacture its number one weapon against aluminum overload: glutathione.